WINDHOEK – Forty-seven-year-old Zefalinu Ndara depends on selling the maguni fruit, commonly known as Kavango oranges to feed his twelve children.
Ndara who sells the juicy fruit relished by many, especially those who hail from the north, says business is not going as it should in Okuryangava, Windhoek.
Maguni is a fruit of Strychnos spinosa, a tree indigenous to tropical and subtropical Africa.
“Business is not going well. We are not selling in peace because we are doing business in the sun. When we sell outside the open market close to Shoprite the City Police chase us away saying we are making the place dirty. Also, it is expensive to sell in the open market,” he laments.
According to him, there are more customers at the open market compared to where he sells, near a riverbed just opposite the Namica supermarket.
“Most customers just end up at the open market … they do not reach this side and so we lose out,” he complained.
Ndara who spoke to New Era yesterday said some people opt to sell the wild fruit on the streets because of constant harassment from the police and co-sellers.
Three weeks ago, Ndara travelled to the Kavango to collect maguni to sell in Windhoek.
“They (police) tell us to go back to Kavango but our customers are here,” says Ndara who came with 17 sacks of maguni. “I have three sacks left,” he says.
“We pay up to N$ 1000 to gather, package and transport maguni from the Kavango (regions) but we end up not making as much as we anticipated. We are selling because our families are suffering. This business helps me support my family,” he says.
He explains he makes a profit of N$800 to N$ 1000.
“We sell one sack of maguni for N$50 and a single big one goes for N$1.00 while a small one goes for 50 cents,” he told New Era.
Senior Superintendent of the Windhoek City Police, Gerry Shikesho, said yesterday that the vendors should follow procedures instead of complaining.
“There are designated places to sell and if people sell in front of shops it causes obstruction. They should rather sell at the open market,” explained Shikesho.
By Alvine Kapitako